So, Vampire?
by MoonbeamMadness
Summary: Levy and Lily are tasked with organizing and sorting the contents of a private Library for the Council. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time they've taken their work home with them. A little multi-chapter story for Halloween. It's already all written up and will be posted by the 31st so enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

The book slipped through her hands and struck the dust covered table with a light thud. Levy glanced at the red on her fingers and grimaced. Blood welling up under her thumb where she'd caught it on a frayed fragment of the old library code quill. The frown on her face very evident as Lily plucked up the book 'Tales of the Vampire' and scoffed at the cheesier than a cheese makers' cheese shelf illustration adorning the cover. A man with a very noticeable cape towering over a kneeling woman, eyes bulging a little too much, dress torn and hands clutched together praying for mercy. Lily counted six fingers on one of her hands. He laughed internally. Vaguely recalling this one. There was now a bright red bloody thumb print on the first page where Levy had been in the process of scrawling a magically infused library code.

"Well, let's hope no one notices," She laughed absently, sucking her thumb in an effort to quell the blood flow.

Lily chuckled, "I wouldn't worry about it. It's a terrible book, and a clear plagiarized copy of a far better novel." He remarked absently.

Levy grinned in an all too Gajeel way for Lily's liking. "So, you read Vampire novels, Lily?" Her smile spread. "I didn't peg you for a cheesy horror kind of guy," She quirked an eyebrow at him.

He'd more than gotten used to it by now, though.

"I'm also partial to werewolves and ghost stories," He deadpanned, although there was an amused light in his eyes. He knew better than to rise to the bait.

Levy sneezed and Lily sighed. The private library they'd been sent too had belonged once to a powerful mage known more for his reclusive and eclectic book collection than his powerful feats. He'd made his fortune catering parties for the rich and retired young to pursue his one true love; crappy fiction. He'd died of old age a number of weeks back and with no relatives to pass it over to, the man had left all his possessions to the Council. Levy had been charged with the task of cataloguing his library for anything interesting and Lily had needed some time to recover after a particularly nasty job with Gajeel. They'd arrived to find an expanse filled with more books than an individual could ever read in a lifetime, mostly trash, and entirely without any cataloguing system at all, which infuriated Levy. Write a number on the book with the code quill and you'd update the attached ledger with the name, author, code and a summary of the book. There was absolutely no excuse not to. This library wasn't a gift, it was a last defiant act of posthumous revenge. It was going to take Levy a week to sort this out and at present it didn't look like there would be much of anything in return for the effort.

"I've had enough of this," The woman threw her hands up in the air and stood up abruptly. "I'm going home. They can have some people pack this all up and move it to the office. If there's anything worth finding it can be found there. We can donate the rest. I highly doubt the council wants…"She picked up another random book, examining the cover and wincing. "…Forest of Forbidden Passion," She wrinkled a dust filled nose at the title and the somewhat raunchy cover.

Lily nodded picking up the two meager books of interested they'd found out of the four hundred they'd already catalogued, stashing them in Levy's satchel with the quill and, with a sly grin, the trashy vampire novel as well.

"Here," He passed the bag to the script mage. "I'll lock up and pick up some food on the way home if you'd like to rest a little? You don't mind me saying but you're a little pale," He offered. Levy looked exhausted. And this coming from the cat that had seen his innards very much outside his body the week previous. This was meant to be an easy job but like most jobs these days they seemed to have a way of turning out for the worst. While she wasn't needed nearly as often in the field as himself or the dragon slayer, that didn't change the fact that woman was working herself ragged for the Council. "Gajeel is due back in the morning so if we still want to have any knives and forks left we should probably get him more than fruit for breakfast. I'm sure you'll appreciate the peace and quiet before we have to face the latest ballad," He joked.

Levy stifled a laugh. "He'd punch you if he heard you referring to them as 'ballads', but yeah…" Her face seemed to grow even paler if at all possible and the easy going smile faltered. "…I am pretty tired," She forced a grin that fooled no one. "I'll go home and curl up with a book, maybe even risk a nap if you can do me a favor and pick up some of that spiced bread I like?" There was a mischievous glint in her eyes now, despite the weary lines creasing her smile. "Considering it's my last night of freedom and all before the odor police gets back?"

Lily made a gagging noise. Gajeel had banned the bread from the house on account of an unfortunate, maybe even isolated case of flatulence that he blamed entirely on the stuff. He'd slept on the couch the last night she'd eaten it, cursing his 'useless fucking dragon slayer nose' or something along those lines. Lily reckoned that the small delicate looking woman had a stomach that made Gajeel's iron one resemble wet paper. She was a lightweight when it came to the alcohol, but by the Gods could she eat some hellish things.

"Mi'lady has chosen." He bowed to hide his grimace but was grateful she was going to get some rest as least.

* * *

She kicked off her boots at the door and shrugged off her jacket with them, flexing her toes in bliss and rolling her shoulders. She'd have probably worked herself to death if Gajeel and Lily didn't pester her into getting some rest every now and then. She deposited the satchel on the kitchen counter and rummaged around in the cupboard for a snack but when nothing appealed she settled on some tea instead. In all the movement a corner of 'Tales of the Vampire' had slipped out onto the countertop, the bright reds and blues on the terrible illustration catching her eye.

"That sneaky little cat," Levy laughed, pulling out the book and flicking through the pages. "Tea, blanket, trashy vampire novel…" She grinned widely. "Well, there's my evening sorted,"

The council gear was hung up in her wardrobe amidst the carnage that was Gajeel's version of organization and Lily's desperate attempt to organize Gajeel's version. Boots, pants and rumpled shirts all tumbled out and much too used to it, Levy just scooted them back in with her foot before forcing the door closed with a sigh. She was now having to throw almost her full weight behind that door again to get it shut. Not that she could complain about it. At least it was just laundry for him. He didn't clutter the rest of the house like she did. Now clad in nothing but her underwear she half danced to her dresser and pulled out one of Gajeel's oversized t-shirts and the fluffiest socks she could find before pulling the comforter off the bed and dragging it to the couch, collecting her mug of tea on the way and curling up into a snug lump amidst the jumbo sized cushions; a trail of pillows and books that had been tangled on the bed left haphazardly in her wake.

Book in hand she started to read. It wasn't necessarily badly written but to her trained eyes it just read wrong. As though it was more a draft than the final thing. The book seemed to be centered round a somewhat emotionally frail aristocratic woman and her arranged marriage to a wealthy nobleman who, ding ding ding, turns out to be the Vampire of the story. Levy scoffed; the main characters seemed a little too vacuous for her liking. No character development. No personality. Boring dialogue. That, and Levy took particular exception to this, the female protagonist fainted at the slightest breeze and in three chapters had been saved twice by her childhood friend already, who of course just instantly hated the Vampire for no apparent reason. It was clear the book wasn't so much about the woman's stand against evil, more so her friend fighting the vampire over her. Maybe it wasn't quite _so_ bad, but the idea of an emotionally and physically weak woman standing around while two guys fought over her affections just struck a little too close a nerve for her. _Been there, done that_. Levy put the book down; choking on a mouthful of cooling tea as she tried to control the laughter.

"Oh no, no my friend, you are going into the pile in the office," She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Even _I_ have a standard," She flipped through the pages of the book again, disbelief etched on her face. "I can't believe that Exceed made it all the way to the end of this?" She laughed.

Setting the book on the coffee table with her mug she pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. The first chill of Autumn was on the wind and the days were starting to grow shorter; she could feel the cold creeping at the edge of the blanket.

Curled up she allowed herself to drift off to sleep, where dark dreams awaited.


	2. Chapter 2

When Lily returned home he found Levy curled up on the couch and frighteningly pale. "Levy?" He asked worriedly. The woman stirred beneath the comforter and he let out a breath. Leaving the food on the counter he went to check her; she was much cooler to the touch than she should have been and her skin had taken on a pasty colour.

"….mmmm…just a few more minutes…" She mumbled in her sleep and Lily frowned. Growing to his full size he plucked her from the couch and carried her to bed. She'd probably picked up something from that moldy library. One of the drawbacks to working as hard as she did was that when she finally did rest up she usually caught the first bug she encountered. Who knew what manner of things they'd inhaled in the last number of hours.

He tucked her under the covers and activated a warming lacrima, placing it near her feet.

"Would you like some tea, Levy?" He asked her softly but she'd already slipped back to sleep.

Lily returned to the kitchen and started making some soup. Hoping to make enough to curb Gajeel's hunger in the morning, and if Levy woke up later that night it would probably be more welcome than his original plans for the ingredients. He took Levy's bread out and placed it at the farthest edge of the counter away from him while he cooked. The devil bread was so potent with chilies and various other monstrously smelly crimes against vegetation that he'd to wash his hands after touching it or risk blinding himself the next time he put them near his face. The woman must have swallowed a titanium script to be able to eat it, he wagered.

Periodically checking on her throughout the night the Exceed noted that her condition wasn't any better but wasn't getting any worse. She slept soundly enough and when he was sure she wasn't in any immediate danger he allowed himself to drift off.

Gajeel's return the following morning was like the first cannonball on the battlefield. Front door slammed, boot steps so heavy, so loud, that Lily was sure the apartment below would be putting in a complaint with the landlord. He stood in the middle of the living room covered head to toe in blood and mud and an expression on his face promising murder. He sniffed the air and immediately stalked over to the kitchen area.

" _What_ ….the _hell_ is this doing here?" He growled out; holding the chili bread aloft and throwing an accusing glare in Lily's direction. "I thought we agreed?" He clenched his eyes closed for a moment to regain himself. "Did we not agree that there was never to be satan bread in the house again?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Lily put a finger to his face and shushed Gajeel. "Levy isn't feeling well, I think we can indulge her a little and keep your voice down," The Exceed took out a bowl for the dragon slayer and began heating the remaining soup, he topped this with a generous helping of regular bread. "She's still asleep," He reprimanded.

Gajeel was clearly hungry as he eyed the food. "She okay?" He asked taking the bowl. Lily didn't let Gajeel's manner irritate him. He cared. He just didn't like showing it.

"It doesn't seem to be more than a chill she's caught," Gajeel's face didn't relax the way Lily expected. "She just works too hard. I'd suggest letting her sleep in and she'll probably be fine by tonight, but would you mind staying here just to check on her? I'm going into HQ to keep up with her work and let them know she's going to need a few days," He asked.

Gajeel downed the soup in large mouthful. He'd already reported in with his superiors and was due a few days off. "I'll be around," He remarked offhandedly, but Lily smirked. The Exceed saw the worry in the lines on the man's face. Levy would be smothered, he'd no doubt.

After checking in on her still sleeping form Gajeel had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. His dreams were disturbing to say the least. He dreamt of death and blood, and of being chased by a shadow version of himself. Levy's laughter echoing in the darkness while he ran. When he'd finally woken up it had been to the godawful stench of old, dried blood and something nasty that he looked to have stepped in and was presently drying on his boots; the smell was so potent he could almost taste it on his tongue. Glancing outside he determined that it was late afternoon already; the sun would start setting around five o'clock so it had to be close to that. It didn't surprise him that he'd slept so long, considering he'd been awake for two days straight on the job but he was concerned that he still felt quite so exhausted. He needed a shower badly. _Levy first_ , _then shower_. He told himself. Heating up the remaining soup and bringing the devil bread with him he crept into the bedroom. She was still right where he left her, curled up and sleeping. He set the tray on the nightstand and gently shook the woman awake.

"Gajeel?" She mumbled through sleep laden lids. There was a little more red coloring to her lips than earlier and her skin was warmer to the touch than it had been. Gajeel decided that was a definite improvement.

He grinned, "Hey, Shorty. You've been asleep all day." Levy smiled at him then recoiled. Covering her face with her arm.

"Oh by the gods you stink!" She coughed out.

After just a single moment of offense Gajeel laughed at her. "Not so fun when it's the other way around is it, Shorty," He motioned to the tray. "I brought you your devil bread and some soup. I'm gonna take a shower. Let me know if you need me," He kissed her on the forehead and wandered out of the room laughing. He didn't notice that even as he was leaving, her nose was still covered by her hands and her eyes were fixed on the tray.

Maybe it was the military upbringing in the Exceed but the bathroom was never even untidy with Lily around. Officially, their bedroom was off limits to the Exceed's interference but Gajeel knew very well that Levy wasn't the one picking his stuff up. _They_ had a system of mutual understanding in the house. Levy didn't mention his shorts in the middle of the floor and he didn't mention sharing the bed with at least three or four books each night. Or the fact that his clothes were in her wardrobe to begin with because she'd taken over two drawers of his dresser for ancient tomes that apparently were too fragile to even be exposed to the weakest streams of direct sunlight. The dragon slayer often wondered what the apartment would look like without the Exceed, considering Levy's tendency to clutter and his aversion to the smell of cleaning products but the thought was much too horrifying to consider. As soon as his shirt came off Gajeel winced; he hadn't even realised just how much he ached. There were fading bruises pretty much everywhere and his shoulders were so knotted he didn't think he'd ever get rid of the tension. He'd come to rely a lot on Levy and Lily to watch his back in the middle of a fight and he'd taken a few knocks this time round.

The dragon slayer smirked. He didn't do it very often due to time constraints but Gajeel turned off the shower and ran the bath. This was what he needed right now. A long soak. Levy was still resting and Lily wouldn't be back for a few hours yet. Baths had been a luxury he'd been unaccustomed to until joining fairy tale but they grew on him. Laying back he felt the immediate sting of the hot water fade and warmth start to radiate all the way through to his bones. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, sinking further into the water. On the borders of awareness he heard the sound of the bathroom door creaking open that could only have been one person. He felt small hands slip over his shoulders and knead the muscles there. He couldn't help the groan that slipped out. The dragon slayer had absolutely no idea what he'd ever done in his life to deserve a woman like Levy McGarden but he wagered it had to have been good. He slipped down into the water a little further, just until his nose was peaking above, all the while she worked her hands into the knots with a skill he'd no idea she possessed. He felt her breath on his ear before the brush of soft lips traced the iron studs there. Despite the warm water goosebumps moved down across his flesh and he smirked. An all too familiar sensation springing up in place of the muscle ache. Hands moved up his neck into his hair and pressed into his scalp massaging it and the dragon slayer felt his entire body melt. This was what he'd needed after the last few days.

He felt a playful nip at his earlobe before a much sharper one that was painful enough to jolt him to full consciousness. When he sat up he realized worriedly that he was completely alone. His heart racing. "Shrimp?" He called out but the bathroom was empty and the door was still closed. He put his fingers to his ear but there weren't even any marks. He briefly considered the notion that it had been some sort of dream but there was the phantom feel of soft hands still lingering on his shoulders and he just knew, _knew_ it wasn't some kind of day dream. Officially too freaked out to continue he climbed out of the water. Vaguely aware that he wasn't anywhere close to clean but unwilling to leave himself vulnerable until he was sure of what was happening. The air beyond the hot water was suddenly freezing and he felt his skin prickle against the drop in temperature. His extra senses were going crazy. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could tell something was wrong. A wordless voice was screaming in there 's _omething dangerous is coming'_.

Almost the instant that he pulled up his boxers there was a disappointed sigh right behind him and he heard Levy's voice whisper his name. He spun, slipping a little, his hand steadying himself against the tiled wall as every sense sought her out in the dissipating steam. There was nothing. No smell of her. No sight or sound of her. He felt as though he might have genuinely imagined that too but for the pit of foreboding curling tightly in his stomach. He dried himself hastily and threw on the clean t-shirt he'd brought before creeping out into the living room. The air was literally freezing out there. His shaky breaths coming out in clouds of white mist. It was so much colder in the apartment than it was outside that ice was already forming intricate patterns on the windows, on the _inside_ of the glass.

He heard her laugh and it seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. He growled and the voice almost seemed to purr in response.

"The great Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel," He felt her finger tips lightly caress his lower back but there was nothing there when he spun. The voice was hers but the tone held the promise of something sinister. "Am I frightening you?" She asked in mock innocence. As tiny and cute as she could be, trouble seemed to follow Levy McGarden like a festival procession. He didn't bother responding. Words were never his thing, anyway.

Something lightly brushed his arm then, the sting it left in its wake and the hot trickle down to his fingers drew a hiss from him. Skin turned to iron and he bared a set of inhumanly long canines in a silent snarl. A shape took form in front of him. Hair like midnight, eyes like black coals rung with fire. Levy McGarden was not Levy McGarden, she was something else. He watched the woman suck her fingers clean, her eyes closed and an almost dreamy smile playing at her lips.

"That's almost too good," She hissed; a pleased expression on her face before her lips pulled back to reveal her own set of fangs. A moment of silence passed between them before she stepped forward and vanished into thin air only to reappear right in Gajeel's face; clawed hands far, far stronger than a human gripping his shoulders, small feet pressed into his stomach with her face angling right for the jugular. He'd just about enough time to bring his hands up and brace them against her before he toppled backwards. One hand on her chest and the other around her throat. His own iron nails drawing blood from the almost translucent skin on her neck. He could hear the sound of her claws scraping against the scales protecting his arms as he found himself pinned underneath her. It only took a moment for him to realise with a heavy sense of dread that she wasn't as strong as him, she was actually much, _much_ stronger. Sheer fading adrenaline was the only thing keeping her at bay and that was a fight he was losing. Her laughing face inching steadily closer. It crossed his mind that she was toying with him.

She bared her teeth at him and he did the same. He'd been raised by a dragon. He wasn't going to allow this thing to frighten him.

There was a dark blur and to Gajeel's relief the woman was ripped from her position and flung across the room. Her body vanishing into mist before it collided with the wall. Lily stood at full height, sword drawn despite the small area. Her laughter still echoing in the silence.

"Gajeel!" He rasped. "Are you okay?"

"I honestly have no fucking idea," He snapped. The dragon slayer's eyes darted around looking for the script mage but all traces of her had vanished. The atmosphere of the room started to slowly change, the cold dissipating with the knot in his stomach. Lily lowered his sword letting out a shaky breath.

"I am so stupid," The Exceed exclaimed. "I'm an idiot to have thought that a book in a lunatic script mage's library would just be a book," He was rubbing his face in disbelief.

Gajeel was tired and confused. "What the hell is going on?" He asked clutching a bloody hand over his freely bleeding arm.

The Exceed wandered across the room and plucked the book from the coffee table and tossed it to Gajeel. The dragon slayer took a look at the cover and growled "Why is it always a book?" under his breath. Despite what people would say about him he wasn't quite an idiot. "So Gajeel, your girlfriend is a fucking vampire," He muttered to himself wearily.

Lily pulled the man's arm up to examine the thin claw marks raked across the bicep. "These aren't very deep," The Exceed went to the kitchen and pulled a medicine box out of one of the bottom cupboards.

Gajeel sat still, blood running a little colder than he was used to while his partner bandaged the limb up. "You got any ideas on how we fix this?" Gajeel asked the Exceed.

Lily examined the dried bloody thumb print on the first page of the book carefully. "I don't know. I'm not sure we could just burn it or destroy it. The book is just a blueprint for the spell. Something else is the source of the magic. I fear the story might need to run its course," He reasoned. "From what I know of the mage he'd organize themed parties where the guests would roleplay characters. I would wager this is one of his spells."

Gajeel flicked through a few more pages. "So what happens in the story?" He asked.

Lily paled, pausing and Gajeel glared at him. "If I'm not mistaken the antagonist bites the main character in the book early on trying to turn her into a vampire." Gajeel raised one eyebrow at him, quizzically. "Then there's some stalking and...before she truly changes she chooses to kill him. Breaking the curse and returning herself to normal," The cat quickly shot out. "Then she elopes with her childhood best friend."

"That's a fucking terrible story," Gajeel whined. "I ain't killing Lev," He ground out. He rolled his shoulders "And another thing, I ain't gonna let her turn me into a vampire either. _Fine_ , I can't destroy the book, but I sure as shit ain't gonna play by its rules." He stood and flexed his hands into a fist. "We're going to find her. We're going to trap her. And we're gonna sort this out," He reasoned.

Lily was strangely silent on the matter which concerned the dragon slayer deeply.

"I don't mean to startle you by bringing this up, but…"The Exceed pointed to Gajeel's throat where two small, neat punctures rested. "...it might be a bit late for that part, I'm afraid," He whispered.

Gajeel's mouth fell open and his hand shot up to his neck to prod at the tiny, almost imperceptible marks. The wound was already well on the way to healing. It looked to have been hours old at least. He'd fallen asleep on the couch. No wonder she'd looked a little less pasty when he'd checked on her.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me? Fucking _fantastic_ ," He sighed. "So, how long exactly do I have before things start getting weird?"


	3. Chapter 3

Notes

 **lilphoenixfeather -** Thank you for the review and I think you'll find that there's more of Levy getting him that the other way round. ;P

* * *

In the book it took three days for the protagonist to reach the cusp of her transformation with things coming to a head on the night of the third day. Lily figured a long weekend for party goers. In the story the vampire couldn't venture out during the daylight hours and the Exceed counted on their real-life vampire adhering to the same rules. Counted heavily on it. He had to face facts. They were very much out of their depths on this one.

Much to his relief the book wasn't too detailed and didn't mention any other victims so they were hoping there wouldn't be, but there was nothing they could do to ensure it. Lily kept an open ear to the news and the Rune Knight's warrants for any attacks, deaths or mysterious sightings. All they could do was hope that Levy, like her fictional counterpart, would fixate on Gajeel and leave the rest of the townsfolk alone. Lily had reread the book the first night and could only determine that the vampire in the books had stalked the woman, messed with her dreams and occasionally invaded her personal space but nothing more than some psychological torment he wasn't sure would be as effective on Gajeel. No, he was actually fairly sure it wasn't going to be nearly as effective. Maybe not even effective at all.

"Gajeel!" The Exceed shook him trying to wake the dragon slayer up but the man wasn't having any of it. Gajeel was sprawled out in his bed, a stupid grin plastered on his sleeping face while he giggled and chuckled in his sleep and Lily felt ill. Having read the book he knew very well what was going on in that dream. Not having much luck with the shaking he muttered an apology under his breath and slapped Gajeel hard across the face.

The dragon slayer groaned in disappointment at being woken up. Lily crossed his arms.

"Do you have to _enjoy_ this quite so much, Gajeel?" He leveled an accusatory glare at him. "The woman in the books didn't enjoy it all that much," Gajeel shrugged, still overly tired and wanting nothing more than to crawl back into bed and sleep.

"Yeah, yeah," He waved off the glare with a dismissive hand. "I ain't the woman in the book. I happen to like hunting stuff and sex, by the way, is awesome," He returned the Exceed's glare. "So lay off...damn cat!"

Lily shook his head before burying his face in his paws. "Fine. Any cravings yet? Death, destruction...the need to pull the limbs off Humans like flies?" He asked.

"Nothing more than usual, no," Gajeel flashed him a side grin but Lily cheeks were beginning to puff with anger. "Oh come on, cat, I can't even crack jokes anymore?" Gajeel relented and fell back on the bed with a sigh. "Fine, you fucking win. No. I ain't got any cravings or shit like that. I just miss her," He admitted. Normally Lily would have left it at that, he knew it was often hard for Gajeel to admit vulnerabilities so openly but he was still pissed off.

"Well, if you miss her so much then why don't you go take another nap?" He sang, venomously.

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. Lily usually wasn't one to be cruel.

"That woman isn't Short Stuff no how much she might look like her. I'm not saying this little magical roleplay isn't fun but that's not really who she is. I can't even tell if I'm who I fucking am right now,"

Lily knew what he was talking about. Here was Gajeel talking honestly and openly about his own feelings while he was being a giant asshole about it. While they did have their sense of self, unlike Levy, they weren't exactly in their right frame of mind. He was beginning to think that mixing her blood and her unique fingerprint into this story was what muddled everything up for her. It was a good guess to believe that at those parties the guest would be effected in the way that Gajeel and he were. Levy was the only one lost in her character.

"I think there's more than just you and Levy trapped in this roleplay," The Exceed muttered, depressed with the revelation.

Gajeel however smiled widely. He caught on quick to Lily's admittance.

"So, cat, you got anywhere special in mind?" Gajeel's grin never faltered.

"What are you talking about?" Lily was openly frowning.

"If I'm gonna be elopin' it's gonna be some place with a beach and an open bar. Just remember, I don't do cold climates. I don't do giant reptiles,"

Gajeel got a study pillow to the face which did nothing to muffle his obnoxious, borderline hysterical laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

Lily couldn't recall ever being grateful before that a book was bad, but he was now. He'd quickly realised that the problems facing them weren't with Levy, who seemed to be under the complete sway of her new character and could be predicted accordingly. If the book said that she turned up at nine o'clock then that's when she'd turn up. When the sun went down she'd begin her nightly disturbances but there were no more direct confrontations while Lily was present. He'd caught Gajeel shirtless in the bathroom swearing blind that he was just taking a shower but for the nail marks on his back. No Vampire-Levy could be predicted. All the problems that they were facing seemed to be coming from Gajeel himself. The Exceed couldn't entirely be certain, but he could swear that the dragon slayer was enjoying himself just a little _too_ much. On the first full day since it happened the man had discovered that the bruises and cuts he'd had were completely gone and he was suddenly, virtually un-killable; open wounds closing almost as soon as they formed.

He wasn't certain if it was with _all_ the dragon slayers but Gajeel certainly seemed thrilled by the idea of invincibility. Lily would be throwing out their set of kitchen knives and replacing them because he just wouldn't be able to use them again after Gajeel's many hours spent saying "Hey, Cat, look at this!" followed by the man stabbing himself randomly. Only to grin like a complete fool when the wounds would close moments later. A knot of worry forming in Lily's stomach as he realised that the protagonist in the book had been terrified by the revelations that seemed to be thrilling Gajeel. Where something like the erotic dreams left her worried and shaken, Gajeel woke up with a smile on his face that the Exceed wanted to permanently erase from his mind. Her terror at losing her Humanity gave her the strength to resist the Vampire. _That_ was going to be an issue for the dragon slayer. Gajeel wasn't exactly an individual synonymous with the concept of Humanity and the woman in the books had barely known the man to begin with; an arranged marriage by their respective families. She hadn't loved him like Lily knew the Gajeel did with Levy. Fake Levy or not, the man would be willing to throw himself in front of a speeding carriage for a lizard if it happened to be wearing a blue wig. Any attraction in the novel was an animal one and little else. The Exceed knew that very soon this fiction would end but he highly doubted it would end in the same way as the books.

By the end of the second day the dragon slayers jovial mood was slipping away. Lily had dozed off in the arm chair in their bedroom watching over him and woken up to find Gajeel standing over him. Staring at him in a way that the Exceed found deeply unsettling. Lily had to face the facts. Dragon slayers with violent pasts seemed to be ideal candidates for vampirism.

"Can I help you?" He asked Gajeel.

The dragon slayer blinked, momentarily confused.

"Not sure. I was in bed and then I was here," He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked to be pained by the attempt to remember. "Don't even remember standing," He conceded.

"I think we've officially hit worst case scenario then, Gajeel," Lily's voice strained. "When the time comes I highly doubt you're going to be keeping Levy at bay, I don't even think you'd really even consider it. What I am picturing is that I'm going to have two bloodthirsty vampires on my hands while praying that the spell expires of it's own accord," He admitted. The dragon slayer didn't argue. "If I were a betting individual I'd say that if that's the outcome the only casualty is going to be me. One final loose end to tidy up," Lily smiled ruefully. "Can't have a rogue love interest floating around at the end of the story, can you?"

Gajeel sat back down chuckling at Lily's joke.

"Would we even die? I mean, if you staked me right now would the story just end or would I actually bite it?" The dragon slayer was strongly toying with idea of just giving in. Forcing an end to the whole thing.

"I doubt he'd have made much money with his patrons dead but this isn't exactly the same as that. This spell has become too warped to know what would happen if we applied direct force to try and counter it," The Exceed laughed. "Funnily, the only person in this town that might be able to give you an answer isn't feeling herself at the moment."

Gajeel looked thoughtful. "You still have keys to the Rune Knights' place outside of town?" Lily nodded. "You see me acting funny you put me there..." He resigned himself. "If we're following the story in the book, we just need to keep us separated till there's no more story," He offered.

"That's as good a plan as we have right now. No one, Council or otherwise seems to know anything about these books," Lily replied.

* * *

On the third day Gajeel didn't wake up, instead sleeping well into the evening. His body completely motionless in the bed. Face pale and drawn. When the Exceed couldn't even see him breathing he knew that the time was drawing close.

There was no sound when Gajeel walked into the living room. The normal heavy thump of his footsteps and the creaking of floor boards were completely absent. When Lily turned, kiwi juice in hand the contents wound up on the floor; glass tumbler shattering with the fright it gave him. In one moment there was nothing and then, then Gajeel was there, eyeing up a random stranger on the street through the window. A grin Lily had never seen before on the man's face, looking at the woman like she were a prime rib on legs out for a stroll.

"And what do you think Levy would say if she could see you here drooling over another woman so shamelessly?" The Exceed absently asked. He expected that like the incidents passed, Gajeel would snap out of it with the realization. Instead there was a lengthy silent pause and the Exceed could swear he heard Gajeel's mind working. He barely heard it then. The words whispered under the man's breath behind the toothy grin. _She'd want me to share_.

"I see."

Lily hit Gajeel so hard in the back of the head that he momentarily worried he'd cracked the pummel on his sword. The thickheaded dragon slayer took three shaky steps and toppled over. The noise of the man colliding with the floorboards shook the window pane it was so loud. Like someone had dropped a steal beam from a height onto the floor. Lily quickly tied him up with anti-magic rope and threw him over his shoulder. It was time. A knock on the door startled the Edolas commander before he realized that he Vampire wouldn't be knocking. He set Gajeel still bound in ropes out of direct line of sight and went to the door.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

A thin, frail looking elderly woman stood in the open doorway. The smell of hairspray made Lily want to gag. She glared at him beneath her net full of hair curlers but didn't speak. Instead she opened her dressing gown displaying an ankle length nightdress the length of which was covered in hot chocolate. Several marshmallows had melted into the fabric and Lily knew how difficult getting those out would be. He also knew who was responsible.

"I do apologise again, Mrs Williams. I was moving the kitchen table and knocked over a chair," He lied. Hoping he'd become better at it, living with Gajeel.

"Some heavy chairs you must have," The woman eyed him accusingly but said nothing more; leaving the doorway and disappearing down the hall. Lily closed the door and let out a breath he was holding when he saw Gajeel still tied up and unconscious. He picked the man up again and moved to the window. They needed to get going if they were to reach the cottage by the time Levy showed up.

It took Gajeel less than an hour to wake up from the blow. When he had, he'd found himself on the outskirts of the town in an abandoned farmhouse tied to a chair with enough runes lining the walls, floors and ceilings that Freed would have given himself a headache taking it all in.

"I'm sorry Gajeel, thankfully I don't think it's possible for you to get a concussion as you currently are," Lily apologised when he saw the bleary eyed look on his waking friend's face.

The dragon slayer just grunted in response. He couldn't remember why but he deep down knew if Lily hit him and tied him up he'd probably deserved it.

The Exceed was sitting, full sized in an opposite chair clutching his sword as though his life depended on it. It was his hope that the runes would keep Gajeel in and Levy out. Keeping them separated till the dawn was Lily's best and only plan. Tonight was the final climax of the book and he was hoping if they waited it out the magic at work would just disappear with no further story to draw on by morning.

It certainly sounded simple. Though, when had that even stopped things becoming complicated.


	5. Chapter 5

Notes

 **Math-Otaku -** Thank you for the review. I do love cheesy horror. In fairness, this is just a bit of Halloween fun. I'd never be able to write a proper horror with these pair in it. I'd traumatize myself. :) But I'm glad the little bit of suspense is able to bleed through.

* * *

Gajeel, as muddled as his brain was, absently realised that at some point he'd started laughing but was unsure why or when he'd started. Some other sense, beyond the ones he normally relied on, told him Levy was nearby. He felt ghostly hands on his shoulders and arms and he was little more than a pool of mush trying to hold back the desire to have her close. There was a rational voice that told him that maybe they could get out of this if they stayed apart. They'd already ventured off the narrative slightly. This was just a harmless game, right? Maybe just a little more was all that might be needed to snap them out of this. He couldn't be sure though and there was a hunger in him that was making every possible attempt to drown out regular thought.

Gajeel closed his eyes and when he opened them again there was something black growing at the center, the normal red almost completely swallowed. As if the chilling laughter wasn't enough, Lily could also see an instant change in his demeanor. When the dragon slayer spoke Lily instinctively reached for his sword.

"You should probably know that Lev was the one that set up all of these little houses for the Knights,"

The Exceed had considered that.

"If the Vampire could use Levy's magic I'm sure she would have by now, Gajeel," It had seemed a certainty several minutes ago but now Lily couldn't be certain, because it looked like Gajeel was now currently a fully fledged vampire and was also smiling somewhat menacingly; a set of impossibly long canines, both top _and_ bottom glinted back at Lily. He swallowed the terrifying realization that they made Levy's look almost cute by comparison. Like she were playing dress up. The world's first immortal vampire dragon slayer. How wonderful.

"If she wants to come in here…." Gajeel began and a rune moved from the floor and snaked around the Exceed's leg pulling him down to the floor on one knee in response. Another rose up and latched onto his sword hand doing the same. After about three seconds runes covered him, immobilizing him there on his hands and knees. They constricted his magic, shrinking him,"…then she's coming in." Gajeel smirked at the now small sized cat. The Exceed pulled hard against the bindings but they held. There wasn't even enough slack to wriggle. His small shoulders were straining in their sockets.

Time seemed to slow and Lily heard the front door creak open. A moment later a small hand lifted his chin up and the Exceed locked eyes with Levy, her now midnight blue hair, black and red eyes and predatory grin turned the blood in his veins to ice.

"Bad kitty!" She drawled without humour before turning back to Gajeel with a genuine smile. She padded across the floor barefoot and straddled him in the chair. With a flick of her wrist she severed the rope binding him and in an instant the dragon slayers hands were wrapped around her; his nose buried in her neck and hair. Lily swore he purred before his grin widened, expression changing and his new fangs buried themselves in her shoulder. Lily could _hear_ the noise of teeth on bone he bit her that deeply. The t-shirt she'd been wearing the last few days dyed red with blood staining all the way down to her hips.

If it bothered her she didn't show it, laughing instead before forcefully pulling his head back and crushing him in a kiss. Her clawed hands tearing deep gashes in his arms and sides and chest. Wounds which healed as though they'd never happened within seconds.

"Oh come now..." Lily muttered from the floor trying to look at anything else and feeling a little ill with all of the blood getting smeared around and more than a little awkward. He'd walked in on his fair share of embarrassing couples moments in the last few weeks but this was, by far, way worse. There were hands going places that he really, _really_ didn't want to see and moans he absolutely didn't want to hear. He swore if they all got out of this he'd never complain again about what they got up to under that blanket on the couch. At the very least it looked as though Gajeel wasn't going to be staking Levy through the heart any time soon and dawn would be approaching in the next coming hours. Maybe if he kept quiet and closed his eyes they'd grope each other till morning.

But there was no such luck.

"What do you think he tastes like?" Levy asked absently glancing back over her shoulder from her position on the dragon slayer's lap. Gajeel quirked a studded eyebrow but didn't answer. The pair of them utterly terrifying; all dark shadows and hungry, inhuman eyes.

It was a question the Exceed absolutely didn't want answered. In an instant the pair moved from the chair and were both standing facing him. Her back was pressed into Gajeel's chest, his arms wrapped around her. Both of them staring at him; black ravenous stares cutting him up already like a side of beef in a butcher's window.

"Maybe we should find out?" Gajeel asked her, whispering into her ear. She laughed as his breath tickled it and smiled a very Levy-like smile beneath the smeared blood and obvious malice. She made to move but he held her back. "But….this would be too easy," Lily snarled at him. His small form straining in the bonds as he locked eyes with Gajeel. He'd led armies back home. Waged wars. Nothing about taking him down would ever, _ever_ be _easy_. Something crossed the dragon slayers face and the Exceed's thoughts died. "And he's only enough for one of us," Gajeel grinned down at him and Lily did a double take, _the bastard had winked at him._ Unlike Levy who'd been locked into the personality of the book's main villain, there wasn't anything in the book about the protagonist after becoming a Vampire. She never does. The fantasy it would seem was finally starting to unravel. It suddenly occurred to Lily that the dragon slayer was buying them time. He didn't want to fight Levy. He was going to play along and drag this out till dawn. Oh Mavis did that give him a little burst of relief.

"Ooooooh! Hide and seek," Levy giggled. "That was my favourite game when I was younger," She smiled, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. The bindings fell away and Lily didn't waste time making himself airborne away from the runes on the floor.

It happened much too fast for Lily to catch it all but Gajeel went from doting Vampire to foe in an instant. One of the hands encircling her passed an end of rope to the other and pulled back. Levy screamed at a pitch that made the Exceed's stomach constrict as Gajeel tightened a segment of rope around her and physically dragged her kicking and thrashing back to the chair. One of her feet connected squarely with his knee and Lily heard a very audible snap but Gajeel merely grunted.

When she was bound to the chair Gajeel sat down on the floor with his legs crossed trying not to appear miserable staring at her. All the while she glared silently at him as though the instant she was free she'd rip his heart out of his chest.

Lily tried to calm the rapid beating of his heart beneath his ribs when Gajeel looked back to him. Black eyes punctuating a blood covered face that seemed impossibly filled with gleaming, grinning teeth. Some primal part of him was having a panic attack in his head looking to know if it should be worried about being eaten.

"Hey, Lily, you think Levy might be able to get the book working right when she's back to her bookworm self?" He asked, his voice hopeful. "Cause this has been pretty fun," He chuckled.

"You're a pervert, Gajeel," Lily sighed. "But I'm sure if you ask her nicely..." The cat trailed off. He checked the clock on the wall. Eight hours till sunrise.

 _Joy,_ he thought.

"I'm going to rip you to shreds. There won't even be enough left to make dog meat." Levy snarled and Gajeel smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, snarl at the sunrise, half-pint," Gajeel chuckled.


	6. Chapter 6

Notes

I'd like to thank all my reviewers and any who've been reading quietly. You guys are _all_ awesome! This is a sort of epilogue of sorts. Not very long. Maybe a little sweeter than I'd originally intended. You know those moments. Big lofty plans about murder and sex and death and all that jazz, and then the characters just decide to be cute little shits. Then bam. Plans of a big finale, totally ruined.

Anyway, Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh! And make sure to cover your mirrors tomorrow. You never quite know who's looking back at you on Halloween.

* * *

As the night dragged on, more and more of the Levy McGarden that they all knew and loved started making an appearance. Whatever doubt that Lily had had about things returning to normal was evaporating like early morning dew. It would all go back to the way it was if they held out till the morning. Unfortunately, for them the parts that were surfacing were quickly being used against them. Levy was a highly intelligent mage with a very broad spectrum of skills to draw from. Magic wasn't even close to being her most versatile weapon.

"These ropes are burning really badly, please, even just loosen them, Lily?" She begged.

Her brown eyes blinked back tears and Lily found himself jerked back by his tail about two foot from her, her entire body throwing itself forward in the chair a moment later, her teeth snapping shut, a laugh dying on her lips before it gave way to a frustrated scream.

"No going near vampire Levy, cat!" Gajeel was still sitting crossed legged on the floor in front of her. His chin propped up on a closed fist his other hand had shot out and caught a hold of the Exceed as he'd drifted passed him.

Lily moved back ashamed that he'd almost fallen for it yet again. He wasn't normally this idiotically trusting. He figured it must be the spell. Then again. Vampire Levy was getting very good at her Human Levy routine.

"Did we find anything good in the books from the library, Lily?" The woman addressed the Exceed as though the previous hours of screaming, and begging and threats had never happened. As though she didn't just try to eat him thirty seconds ago. Brown eyes bright and her normal easy going smile. Even knowing her as well as he did Lily could forgive himself for mistaking this as the real Levy McGarden. But as he looked closer he could see her feet straining in the bonds fixing them to the front legs of the chair, the tightness to the muscles in her shoulders. The readiness to her posture. The problem was that he wanted her to be back so badly he was deluding himself with what he wanted to see. He really wanted to believe the lie, but that didn't mean that there wasn't _some_ truth in there. Morning was breaking and the truth was that she was getting desperate.

"You can give up now, half-pint," Gajeel grumbled. "I'm not going to let him get close enough to you to do anything. So quit it," He seemed resigned.

"But it's not him I really want, is it?" She purred to Gajeel. Tactics changing. "I've wanted you, every day since the trials."

Lily heard Gajeel suck in a slow breath between clenched teeth. Already the fangs had started to vanish and the red had retaken his eyes. Though, like Levy, the elements of foreign personality still lingered but to the Exceeds ever growing opinion of the man, he was keeping it together. Mostly.

"Listen up woman, I don't want you. I want _my_ shorty. So yeah, I wasn't my self and you were fun ...but fun's over,"

She sneered at him. "You're lying. I can tell you still want me, I'm almost exactly like her. How could you not?" Her voice took on a condescending tone.

Gajeel sprang from his position on the floor and brought his face close to hers and the vampire recoiled.

"No, I want _her._ Not a lookalike. Not an imitation. Not an _almost anything_. I want _her._ If you aren't her, you aren't _anything_."

A beam of sunlight spilled in through the window as two small hands cupped Gajeels cheeks and Levy's lips brushed his. There was a singular moment of panic before the dragon slayer determined that this was the real Levy. Not some trick. Not a daydream. She was real and solid and warm...and she sort of stank.

Gajeel sat back on the balls of his feet to examine her.

"I think you need a shower, short stuff," He waved a hand in front of his nose.

Levy lunged from the chair and knocked him to the ground. Lily yelled but Gajeel only laughed as the woman sat on his midsection as she was prone to do when she needed him to take something seriously. She always joked saying she could never believe he took anything she said in earnest looking down at her from that height.

"I've spent three whole days a vampire and that's the first thing you say to me, you, you _jackass_!" She pounded a small, Human fist off the terse muscles on his abdomen and pointed a finger in his face. "She came literally three seconds away from ripping your heart out of your chest just now. _Of course_ she just got you angry to get you closer. _Of course_ she'd broken a few fingers to slip out of the ropes. You...ummmphf..."

Gajeel pulled her down to his chest and smothered her lips with his own, wrapping his arms across her back and holding her close. She groaned into the embrace returning the kiss eagerly.

Lily let out the breath he was holding. He was officially done with this week.

"I trust you know the way back. I'll see you at home. Need to buy some new knives..." He mumbled as he disappeared out through the doorway.

When he'd left Levy settled down against the dragon slayer's chest and Gajeel couldn't think of a single thing that had ever sounded better than the steady thump of her heartbeat. He smiled.

"You know this farmhouse has a pretty nice bathroom? I was _just_ suggesting maybe the both of us get cleaned up? There might even be some Rune Knight gear hiding around that we can change into afterward," Gajeel was grinning as he spoke quietly to her as though someone might overhear them.

Teeth nipped sharply at Gajeel's earlobe and Levy's voice purred in his ear with the same tone as her undead counterpart. "I hear the bedroom is pretty nice as well,"

He rolled her onto her back and looked her in the eye, making sure there was no foul magic at play this time. Levy grinned at him, regular teeth chewing on her bottom lip as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You know, we don't need some magic book if that's the kind of thing you're into, Gajeel," She smirked.

Gajeel was stunned into silence for about ten seconds where he blushed a dark crimson before he quickly climbed to his feet and pulled Levy from the floor into his arms in a single movement. She shrieked with laughter as carried her, stumbling toward the bathroom, kicking his boots off along the way.


End file.
